2. Ebooks: We live in an information age; as a society, we crave information. Thanks to advances in technology, anyone can create it. And, who’s better at creating an information product like an ebook than a freelance writer?

Ebooks can be produced for free (I’ve been doing it since 2002) and all they take is time. Update them regularly (every year or two) and watch the income roll in. Following are some guidelines for writing and self-publishing profitable ebooks.

Guidelines for Writing and Selling Profitable Ebooks

a) Write what you know: All of my ebooks are on freelance writing and marketing. I write all of them from first-hand experience and I think this is why they sell so well.

b) Create a line: Instead of writing one ebook, create a line of them. I’ve written numerous ebooks – all of them are in the same niche, but cover different aspects of this broad niche. When you create a line of products, you have a much better chance of making a sale.

c) Pricing: I base this solely on my experience, but I believe in pricing ebooks across a wide range. My ebooks range in price from $4.95 to $39.95. Again, this helps bring in a range of buyers.

Many ebook buyers are skeptical about self-published authors. (For more on this read Buying an Ebook? 4 Things to Look for Before You Purchase). However, they may take a chance on one of your $4.95 products. Then, if they like what they read and are impressed by your obvious command of the subject matter, they won’t hesitate to buy your higher-priced products.

d) Update regularly: Update your products every 1-3 years so that they remain fresh, and you can continue to sell them.

The bottom line is, consumers are more than willing to pay for information that helps them solve a specific problem. And, you have more knowledge than you think. So, dig deep and give it to them.

Following is the last idea freelance writers should consider to create passive retirement income.

3. Build a Virtual Real Estate (VRE) Empire: This is similar to an information portal, but it encompasses more than one site. Many who run virtual information empires have a few sites, eg, 10-20. BUT each site is niche focused and is monetized.

How to Monetize Your VRE

a) Google Ads: Most of these sites are monetized with Google Adsense. Simply build the site, place Google ads on it, update it regularly and watch the profits roll in. It’s a bit more complicated than that, obviously, but that’s the gist of it.

To make money with VREs, you need traffic. Not as much as you may think, depending on the niche you target and how good your content is, but you do need traffic. This is the hardest part of making money with VREs.

b) Private Ads: While Google is the first place many look to monetize their VREs, I’d go further than that and seek out private ads. Why? If Google changed their algorithms, you won’t have to worry about your site disappearing from the rankings, hence losing the bulk of your traffic and income.

Private ads can be very profitable, if you have the traffic to warrant your ad rates. JohnChow.com is an excellent illustration of this. For June 2008, he brought in over $15,000 in private ad sales and long ago removed Google from his site. Read more on how to monetize your site beyond Google Adsense in John’s income report.

c) Affiliate Programs: Choose ones that are relevant to your niche. There are millions of affiliate programs out there. To find appropriate ones, start with the big affiliate networks like Clickbank.com. To find more, simply type the keyword phrase “affiliate programs” into your browser and start investigating.

d) Self-produced Products: One of the ways I monetize my site is via ebooks that I write and publish. You can create one, or a few, for each of your mini sites to sell and produce passive income.

For maximum income passive income generation, feel free to use more than one of these ideas on each site.

How to Maximize Your Passive Income for Retirement

You can implement all, or a combination of the ideas mentioned her to maximize your passive retirement income. Although, choosing one idea and really focusing on making it work will probably be all that you can handle while you’re still taking on client projects.

These are but three examples freelance writers can use to create passive income for retirement.

Did you know that InkwellEditorial.com is the authority site on freelance writing? From retirement to marketing to search engine optimization -- if it pertains to freelance writers, you'll find it here. Pass it on!